Manufacture of straw hats



- Aug. 6, 1935. WIEDEMAN 2,010,285

MANUFACTURE OF STRAW'HATS Filed April 22, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 //VlE/VTOR osmiv \Jlckamam ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1935.

0 WIEDEMAN MANUFACTURE OF STRAW HATS Filed April 22, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet? M y a 5 a V r W r 5* s W a Patented Aug. 6, 1935 UNITED@STATES MANUFACTURE OF srrmw HATS Oscar Wiedeman, Fall River, .Mass., to

Philip Rosenberg, .Brooklyjm N.

. Application April 22, 1932, .Se'rialNo. 606,945

19 Claims. (01. 22394.11

This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture-of straw hatsand particularly to a novel apparatus for shaping hats of the yacht orsailor type. a

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved method andapparatus for performing the shaping operations in the manufacture ofstraw hats. I further provide means whereby various steps in themanufacture which have heretofore been performed in succession may besimultaneously accomplished. It is my further ob ject to provideimproved methods and apparatus of this character whereby the process ofmanufacture may be materially shortened, resulting in a substantialsaving in the cost of production without sacrifice in the quality of thefinished product.

In the manufacture of sailors as now practiced, the straw braid is firstsewn roughly into the shape of the hat, the hats are stiffened withgelatine and are then dried. Theyare then moistened, treated with livesteam and stretched over a form, on which they are ironed into shapethrough a wet cloth, or shaped by hand, from the outside. The hats arethen removed from the form, and after drying they are again steamedslightly and put in ametal mold which has a matrix similar in shape tothe form above referred to. Hydraulic pressure then expands a rubber baginside the crown whereby the'hat is shaped to the mold. This hydraulicpressing operation results in considerable mashing or flattening of thebraid. The hats are thenremoved from the mold, and are moistened ortreated with live steam to raise the braid. This some times separatesthe braid in spots, and in any event it is customary to put the hat overa block of shape similar to the mold cavity and iron it through a wetcloth. The hats next go to a brimming machine to straighten and form thebrim, after which they may be again steamed to raise the braid of thebrim.

It has been proposed to expand a yielding", elastic surface within sometypes of hats by means other than hydraulic pressure, and also to pressthe sides of hats with a perforated shield while applying steam directlyto the hat. Such proposals, however, have not proven applicable to mensstilf sailor straw hats.

My improved method andapparatus make it possible to dispense with anumber of steps heretofore involved in the manufacture of sailor strawhats, and to accomplish in a single operation results which heretoforehave required separate treatments. I make preliminary blockingunnecessary, and I providea shaping operation which avoids crushing-ofthe braid. In the same operation I maygive the hat' a sharp band line.My invention makes certain finishing operations unnecessaryf I I Anembodiment of my'invention is illustrated in theiaccompan'ying drawings,in which,-

Fig. l is a'perspective view of a preferred form 0f press;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lower pressing mechanism;- Fig. 3 is aperspective view of the expansible shaping blockp I Fig.4 is anelevati'ompartly in section, ofthe press showing the upper and lowerpressing members in working engagement; and

Fig. Sis an elevation of parts "of the lower pressing mechanism shown inreleasing position. Referring' to-the drawings, and particularly to Fig.1, my preferred form of press comprises in general a lower pressingmechanism, indicated generally at A, and an upper, verticallyreciprocating pressing mechanism adapted to cooperate therewithandindicated generally at B. The base i of the press supports a casting2 adapted to house the lower pressing mechanism as herein afterdescribed; j The upper pressing mechanism is supported by a horizontallyswinging frame comprlsing'the uprights and 4 joined at their upperextremities by a cross head 5. The said frame is rotatably supported bythebase l'solely through the upright 3 which is journaled in thehollowed extension 5 of the base, thesaid upright'being provided with arigidly' secured collar abutting the top surface'of the extension 8 andadapted to support the weight or the frameand the reciprocating partscarried thereby.- Ihe upright 3 may be screw threaded at its lowerextremity to receive a nut i l to secure, firmly-but rotatab1y,the frameto-the base -I. Thus the operative may swing the verticallyreciprocating pressing mechanism B fromthe position indicated in Fig. 1to a position in which 'the-mechamsm-B is vertically aligned with thelower pressing mechanism A, during which swinging operation the uprightwill revolve in the arc of a circle the center of which lies in the axisof the upright 3, until the lower extremity of the upright 4 is receivedin the forked opening act the extension 9 of the frame asindicatedbyxthe'dashedlines in Fig.2. The frame may be locked in thisclosed position by means of the nut: ll, (Fig. 4) ,engaging thescrewthreaded lower extremity of the upright l, which nut may be rotatedto lock the frame in place by means of the integral hand lever I8. Thecross head 5 carries at its extremities hollowed portions adapted to fitover the upper portion of the uprights 3 and 4 as indicated by theportion I2 secured, as shown, by means of the nut 13. Integral with thesaid hollowed portions are the U-shaped bearings l4 and I5 in which isjournaled the shaft IS.

The uprights 3 and 4 are also joined by the reciprocating head 20,having at its extremities the bearings 2| and 22 adapted to slidablyembrace the uprights 3 and 4. As hereinafter described, thereciprocating head 20 supports a brim pressing plate 23, adapted to belowered into pressing engagement with the hat in place in the lowerpressing mechanism A.

Vertical reciprocation of the head 20 and pressing mechanism carriedthereby is effected by means of two toggles comprising the links 29pivoted at 2'! to the head 20 and at 24 to the rocker arms 25 rigidlyfixed to the shaft l6. Rotation of the shaft i6 is manually eifected bythe lever 33 adjustably secured as by the bolt 33 to an extension of theshaft. The counterweights 32 are provided as shown to effectivelybalance the rotative effect on the arms 25 of the weight of thereciprocating cross head 20 and associated parts. In the pressingoperation the lever 30 is depressed. until it engages a stop (not shown)extending into its path of travel, to straighten the toggle links in amanner well known to the art.

As indicated in Fig. 4 the brim pressing plate 23;is adjustablysupported by the reciprocating head 20 by means of the hollow screwthreaded member 40 integral with the brim plate 23 and received by aninternally screw threaded portion 4! formed in the head 20. man obviousmanner adjustment of the vertical distance between the brim plate 23 andthe head 20 may be efiected by rotation of the plate 23 and the brimplate may be secured in such adjusted position by means of the set screw42 extending into the interior of the screw threaded portion 4| andadapted to engage the screw threaded extension 40.

As stated above, the base I supports a casting 2 adapted to house thelower pressing mechanism A. As indicated in Fig. 4 the casting 2 ishollowed out at 50 to form a steam chest suitably connected to a supplyof steam for heating the lower pressingmechanism. The said mechanismcomprises in general an outer mold shaped to receive' the hat and aninner expansible shaping block adapted to be placed within the hat whenthe latter is in position in the outer mold, to expand against theinterior of the hat to, eifect the desired pressing operation. The outermold consists of a hollowed block divided into two separable sections 5|and 52 (Figs. 4 and 5), both of which sections are received by the upperpart of the casting 2 and thereby firmly secured together to form ineffect one continuous outer mold. As indicated in Fig. 5 the section 5|is received by thercasting 2, where it remains during the pressingoperations of any number of hats of the size and shapefor which the moldis designed. The section 52, however, is removed during one step in eachpressing operation and for this purpose section 52 is provided with ahandle 53 by which it may be manually lifted from the casting 2. Thesection 52 is further provided with a recessed portion 54, the verticaledge 55 of which is adapted to rest against the inner edge 56 of thecasting 2, which casting is cut away at 51 to facilitate separateremoval of the member 52 and to act as a ledge to support the moldsection when it is partially raised as indicated in Fig. 5. To resistdis-' placement of the mold section 52 during the expansion of the innermold against it, aligned holes 59, (Fig. 5) are provided in the mold andcasting into which one or more pegs 58 (Fig. 1) may fit. As anadditional security against displacement of section 52, the locking band98, pivoted at 99 and. I05 to the casting 2 is provided to revolve fromits open position shown in Fig. 5 to its locking position of Fig. 1. v

In Fig. 4 the numeral 50 indicates a straw hat in place for a pressingoperation at which time the hat is inserted in an inverted position, asindicated, with the tip 5i of the crown lowermost. As is well known, thecrown of a sailor hat is generally slightly tapered from the point ofintersection of the brim and crown to a slightly broader portion at thecrown tip. It is because of this flaring formation of the hat crown thatthe outer mold is divided into removable sections, as the operator isthus enabled to remove the mold section and thereby remove the hat afterpressing it to its final slightly flared shape within the mold.

The expansible shaping block, indicated generally as 95 in Fig. 3, whichis placed within the crown of. the hat after the hat is in place in theouter mold comprises, as shown in detail in Fig. 3, a number of blocksl5 which are suitably shaped, as indicated, to conform to the abovenoted shape of the outer mold, which blocks 10 are of hollowconstruction, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4. After the block sectionsiii are placed within the hat the central expanding core H is placed inthe center of the blocks as indicated in Fig. 3. The core I l, which issubstantially cubeshaped as shown, consists of a number of sections 12substantially triangular in cross section which are yieldingly heldtogether by springs or other suitable means as is known in the art. Theassembled sections 12 are drilled in the center to form a tapered hole'13 as indicated in Fig. 4, into which hole may be forced the plunger M,tapered to conform to the hole l3, to effect the expansion of themembers 72 and the contiguous blocks 13. In order that the thrust of theplunger it may not force the member ll downwardly independently of thehollowed blocks it, and thereby crush the center of the hat crown tip, Iprovide, in the inward face of each block section 75 a central.vertically extending plate it! having a vertical groove 9? open at itsupper extremity and terminating in a shoulder H33. Projecting from eachsection l2 of the core ii is a lug 96 adapted to be received by itscorresponding groove 5"! upon insertion of the core H centrally of theblocks ill and to abut the shoulder 563 to prevent downward displacementof the core 7! independent of the sections 15.

Within a screw-threaded hollow in the member 40 is screwed the hollowthreaded member 9|, which at its lower extremity is integral with thecentrally perforated spacing member 3 The wheel 92 is rigidly secured tothe upper extremity of the threaded member 9! as a convenient means forrotating said threaded member within the threaded hollow in the member48, to raise or lower the spacing member 84.

Similarly, the member 93 is screwed into a threaded hollow in the member9 i. The threaded member 93 at its lower extremity is integral with andsupports the plunger M. rigidly secured to the upper extremity of themember 93 to rotate said member within the screw-threaded hollow in themember 9! and thus raise or lower the plunger 74.

As indicated in Fig. l, the outer mold sections The wheel at is areprovided with annular disc sections Ill and H which may be removablysecured to their respective mold sections by suitable dowels. Asindicated in l and 4 these disc sections act as a form or templet torestrain distortion of the edge of the brim during a pressing operationand to insure a brim of proper width and heat curvature.

The outer mold sections 5! and 52 are recessed at the upper part oftheir mold faces to receive a band 53 wh ch, as indicated, protrudes a,slight distance above the plane of the inner mold brim faces. I 7

As shown in Fig. 4 the upper surfaces 82 of the inner block sections IE!and the brim surface 83 of the outer mold sections 51 are substantiallyin the same plane when a hat is in place for the pressing operation. Inorder to force the block downwardly to exert pressure against the crowntip 6! of the hat, I interpose. the. centrally perforated spacing member84 above described.

In utilizing my apparatus, I may proceed as followszlhe braid is sewnand the hats sized and dried in the usual manner. The hat is thenslightly moistened and steamed, and without the preliminary blocking orshaping operation heretofore universally practiced, I place the hat directly in the outer mold. To accomplish this, the upper mechanism B isswung back on its pivot in the extension 6 into the position shown inFig. 1. The crown of the hat is placed upside down in the outer mold andthe rows of braid are straightened out from. the inside of the crown. Inext insert within the crown, in the manner above described, theexpansible shaping block 90. The upper mechanism B is then swung forwardand the upright 4 is locked in the opening 8. In this position theplunger 74 registers with the opening 13 in the center piece of theblock 99. The reciproca ing head 2%! is then brought down'over the lowermechanism A by means of the lever 30. This forces the plunger 74 intothe tapered opening in the core H, separating the blocks 10 and exertinghorizontal rigid pressure from within the crown of the hat upon thesides of the crown, thus conforming them to the contour of the outermold.

Simultaneously, the spacing or presser member 5% contacts the top of theblock 90, and the re-- sulting vertical pressure causes the bottom ofthe 1 block 9& to press down upon the top of the crown or" the hat fromthe inside, conforming the top of the hat to the bottom of the outermold. At the same time, the brim plate 23 comes into contact with thehat brim, flattening the same and causing the relatively sharpprotruding edge of theband 52 to press into the hat at the juncture ofthe brim and crown, giving the hat asharp band line.

The diameter of the plunger 14 and its vertical adjustment are such thatwhen the lever 30 reaches the end of its downward arc, the plunger willhave expanded the block 9E2 horizontally until the sides of this blockare the proper distance from the sides of the outer mold, this distancebeing equal to or slightly less than the thickness The pressure thusexerted is concentrated at those points where extra pressureiscnecessary, as for example-where the tip and sides of the crown meet,and is exerted to a less extent on points which readily conform to thecontour of the mold. Crushing of the braid is avoided.

After remaining in the press for one to two minutesway about a minuteand a half--the hat maybe removed. When removed, the crown is perfectlydry, having been dried by direct contact with the dry heated metalsurfaces both inside and outside. No difiiculty from sticking of thehat. to the mold Willbe experienced. The hat is readily removedand ifdesired it may be moistened. smoothed andflnished and the process ofmanufacture is then complete.

Various aspects of my novel process have been incorporated in aco-pe'nding application, Serial No. '746,70l, filed October 3, .1934. i7

When the expansible shaping block 9Ei is constructed of metal (forexample aluminum), as in my preferred form, the heat from the outer moldis readily communicated to this metal and is uniformly conductedthroughout the shaping block. Contact of a moist hat with a rubbersurface, as involved in the shaping operation prior to my invention, hasbeen found to draw the glue out from the center of the straw braids. Butmy uniformly heated metal surface does not draw out the glue. Thissurface further dries the hat. I am enabled to employ less pressure thanwas heretofore used in the shaping operation, whereby the braids are notmashed or deformed.

When in this specification and in the appended claims reference is madeto an expansible block, this expansibility is to be understood asderived from the construction of the block whereby portions of the samemay be forced away from other portions, and the outside dimensions ofthe thusseparated biock are increased to the extent of such separation.The word expand is similarly used.

My method and apparatus enable me materially to shorten the process ofmanufacture of sailor straw hats and at the same time to produce a hatof the highest quality.' I' obviate the necessity for preliminaryblocking and for certain finishing operations. When using my method andapparatus, it is possible to operate at full plant capacity with onlyone-third the number of hats in process which are required underpresentmethods. The saving in amount of capital tied up in hats in the processof manufacture, and of plant space, is obvious.

What I claim is:-

1. In a hat shaping apparatus, the combination of a mold adapted toengage exterior surfaces of a hat, provided with a circumferential edgeextending beyond the brim surface of said mold, and means for pressingthe brim of a hat against the said edge.

2. As'elements in a hat shaping apparatus, the

combination of a plurality of separate shaping blocks whose combinedperipheral surfaces, when in pressing position within' the hat, conformto the tapering shape of the inner surface of the hat crown from top tobrim, which blocks, when in pressing position, present spaced innerfaces combining to form anaperture adapted to receive an expansiblecore, a core having outer faces adapted to press against the inner facesof the combined blocks when the core is in'pos ition'centrally disposedof the assembled pressing blocks, a vertically extending groove in theinner face of each block terminating in a shoulder and a lug projectingfrom each outer face of the core and adapted to be slidably received byits corresponding groove and to abut the shoulder to prevent relativedisplacement of the core and block beyond a predetermined limit.

3. .In an apparatus for shaping straw hats, the combination of a molddivided into separable sections and adapted to receive the crown of astraw hat, a sectional expansible block adapted to fit within the crownof the hat when in the mold, a core within the said block, which corehas outer faces adapted to press against the inner faces of the saidblock to expand the same, a circumferential edge extending beyond thebrim surface of the mold at the juncture of the brim and crown of thehat and a templet adapted to confine edges of the brim, and means forsimultaneously expanding said block, pressing the block against theinner top of the crown and pressing the hat brim against the saidcircumferential edge while the brim edge is confined by the saidtemplet. I

4. As elements in an apparatus for shaping sailor straw hats, a shapingblock of heat conductive metal comprising a plurality of hollow sectionspresenting a combined peripheral surface conforming in shape to thedesired shape of the inner surface of the hat crown, said sectionspresenting inner faces, an expansible core slidingly abutting andadapted to press against the said inner faces to separate the same andexpand the hollow metal block, and means for applying heat by conductionto the said block.

5. As elements in an apparatus for shaping a straw hat, a shaping blockdivided into sections, said block having side and crown pressingsurfaces and being adapted to press the sides and top of a hat crown,and an expansible core within said block for pressing the top of the hatcrown and for radially separating the sections of said shaping block topress the same against the sides of the hat crown.

6. As elements in a hat-shaping apparatus, an expansible shaping blockdivided into sections, said block having side and crown pressingsurfaces and being adapted to press the inner sides and top of a, hatcrown, and having a removable expansible core adapted to expand the saidshap ing block and tending to cause separate sections of said block toexert equal pressure on the hat crown.

'7. As elements in a hat shaping apparatus, a shaping block divided intosections, an expansible core for radially separating the sections ofsaid block, said core being provided with a tapering orifice, a taperedplunger adapted to be received by the said orifice and when forced intosaid orifice to expand the core to separate radially the sections of theshaping block.

8. As elements in a hat shaping apparatus, an expansible shaping blockfor pressing the sides and top of the crown of a hat, an expansible coreand means for expanding said core to expand said block to exert pressureon the sides of a hat crown, and an independently adjustable pressermember adapted to abut said block and core and sectional block adaptedto press the sides and top.

of a hat crown, a tapered plunger and an expansible core adapted to bereceived within said block and to receive said plunger, said core actingby expansion to translate vertical motion of the plunger into horizontalmotion of the sections of the said block and tending to equalize thepressure exerted by individual sections of said block upon the hatcrown.

10. As elements in an apparatus for shaping a straw hat, a shaping blockdivided into sections, an expansible core for radially separating thesections of said block to press the same against the sides of a hatcrown and a presser member for efiecting thrust of the shaping blockagainst the tip of the hat crown.

11. As elements in an apparatus for shaping a straw hat, a shaping blockdivided into sections, an expansible core for radially separating thesections of said block to press the same against the sides of a hatcrown and means for preventing downward movement beyond a predeterminedpoint of the expansible core relative to the shaping block.

.12. As elements in an apparatus for shaping a straw hat, a shapingblock divided into sections, an expansible core for radially separatingthe sections of said block to press the same against the sides of a hatcrown and means for preventing downward movement of the expansible corerelative to the shaping block beyond a predeterminedpoint, which meansincludes vertical grooves terminating in shoulders in the inner surfaceof each outer shaping block section and lugs on the outer faces of thecentral core, said lugs adapted to slide within said slots and to abutsaid shoulders to prevent further downward movement of the coreindependently of said block.

13. In a hat shaping apparatus, the combination of a mold adapted toengage exterior surfaces of a hat, an expansible shaping block adaptedto be received by the hat when in place in the mold, pressure applyingmeans for expanding the block against the sides of the crown and forcingthe same downwardly against the seat of the mold for shaping a hat tothe form desired, and a templet for shaping and preventing distortion inthe edge of the brim during the pressing operationi I 14. In a hatshaping apparatus, the combination of a mold adapted to engage exteriorsurfaces of a hat, an expansible shaping block adapted to be received bythe hat when in place in the mold and pressure applying means forexpanding the block against the sides of the crown and forcing the samedownwardly against the seat of the mold for shaping a hat to the formdesired, said pressure applying means being provided with means foradjusting to predetermined limits the clearance between the side andbottom surfaces of the block and the corresponding surfaces of the moldat the limit of the pressing thrust.

15. As elements in an apparatus for shaping a straw hat, an outer moldadapted to receive the crown of a hat, said mold tapering from the topof the crown toward the brim and being divided into separable sections,an inner mold adapted to be received by the said outer mold and by thecrown of a hat in place within said outer mold, said inner moldcomprising an expansible shaping block divided into separable sectionsand a core disposed within said block, and means for expanding said coreand said block to press the sides of the crown of a hat against thesides of the outer mold.

16. Apparatus as described in claim 15, includinga pressing memberabutting the inner mold and its core and adapted to press the sameagainst the top of the hat crown.

17. In a hat shaping apparatus, the combination of a mold adapted toreceive the crown of a hat, a sectional expansible block adapted to fitwithin the crown of the hat when in the mold, an expansible core withinthe said block, means to expand said core to press the block against thecrown of the hat, a presser member adapted to abut said block and pressthe same against the top of the crown of the hat and a pressing memberfor exerting pressure on the underside of the brim of a hat in the mold.

18. In a hat shaping apparatus, a female mold adapted to receive thecrown of a hat, a male mold adapted to be received within the femalemold and within the crown of the hat, a presser member for pressing saidmale mold against the top of the crown of a hat in place in the femalemold and a brim pressing plate for pressing the underside of the brim ofsaid hat, said presser member and said brim pressing plate beingrelatively adjustable to control the pressures respectively exertedthereby upon the hat.

19. Apparatus as described in claim 18, including a tapered plungeradapted to expand the male mold, said plunger being adjustable relativeto said presser member and said brim pressing plate.

OSCAR WIEDEMAN.

